


Tribulations of a wizard: how not to try to invite a girl to the Yule Ball.

by Speechless_since_1998



Series: Mòxiāng Tóngxiù's Novels Hogwarts Verse [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Funny, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Era, Multiple Crossovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:01:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27867301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Speechless_since_1998/pseuds/Speechless_since_1998
Summary: Jin Zixuan went to the Ravenclaw's table, attracting the glares of Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng. He didn't care about those two brats. His goal was another. He stood in front of Jiang Yanli, and with all the courage, he said, "You will come to the Yule Ball with me."The girl didn't answer. She smiled amiably - sometimes, he wondered if she could do anything other than smile all the time - as if flattered by the proposal. And she had to be! If Madame Jin hadn't insisted, Jin Zixuan would never have invited her to the ball. There were girls much prettier than her! She had to be honored with that invitation.But Yanli's response surprised him, "No."And this is how Jin Zixuan's troubles began.[ Jin Zixuan just wanted to invite his future wife to the Yule ball. Why did it all have to be so complicated?]
Relationships: Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín & Jiāng Yànlí & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Yànlí/Jīn Zǐxuān
Series: Mòxiāng Tóngxiù's Novels Hogwarts Verse [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987867
Comments: 18
Kudos: 133





	Tribulations of a wizard: how not to try to invite a girl to the Yule Ball.

Jin Zixuan went to the Ravenclaw's table, attracting the glares of Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng. He didn't care about those two brats. His goal was another. He stood in front of Jiang Yanli, and with all the courage, he said, "You will come to the Yule Ball with me."

  
The girl didn't answer. She smiled amiably - sometimes, he wondered if she could do anything other than smile all the time - as if flattered by the proposal. And she had to be! If Madame Jin hadn't insisted, Jin Zixuan would never have invited her to the ball.

There were girls much prettier than her! She had to be honored with that invitation. 

  
But Yanli's response surprised him, "No." 

  
And this is how Jin Zixuan's troubles began.

Jin Zixun stared at him without understanding, "You want my help asking a girl to come to the Yule Ball with you."

  
"Yes."

  
"The same girl who said no to you a few hours ago in front of everyone."

  
"Yeah..."  
  
A pause. Then, the cousin asked him, "Why don't you ask someone else?"  
  
"I can not do that. My mother would kill me. Yanli and I are going to get married, and mum thinks I have to start paying attention to her.  
"  
It was something he hated, having to marry such a mediocre girl!   
  
Their mothers had decided for them, and Jin Zixuan had no say in the matter! It was unfair! All because the Jin family wanted to keep their blood pure! Bullshit! J  
in Zixun whistled, "It sucks to be you."  
  
"It's not funny."   
  
“For me, it is. Anyway, what do you want me to do? "  
  
"You will help me?"  
  
"Only if you convince that cute housemate of yours to come to the ball with me."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Wen Qing."  
  
Crap, Wen Qing was absolutely out of his cousin's reach, but Jin Zixuan didn't have the heart to tell him.   
  
So he said, "Okay, I'll do it."  
  
“Perfect. So, do you have a plan? "  
  
The Gryffindor nodded, “Of course I have a plan? Who do you think I am?"

The plan was simple.   
  
Jin Zixun had to bully Yanli, Zixuan would intervene, and she would be so grateful to him that she would surely agree to come to the prom with him. It was a perfect plan! Too bad she hadn't anticipated that Yanli would use _Petrificus Totalus_ on Zixun and then quietly go to the library with her friend. Jin Zixuan didn't know if he should be struck by the grace with which the witch had used the spell or by anger at the missed opportunity. Both. Both were better.  
  
“This may not have been my best idea - he admitted - At least now we know heroic rescues are useless with her. I didn't expect him to react this way. I mean, she's so .. so kind, usually. One wonders if the sorting hat didn't make a mistake in sorting it into Ravenclaw. She looks like a perfect Hufflepuff, unlike her younger brother. Ah, but what am I thinking ?! I need another plan! Zixun, do you have any ideas? "   
  
He was offended by his cousin's silence, and only later did he remember that, even if he wanted to, the other could not answer him.  
  
He patted Zixun on the shoulder, "I'm sorry. But don't worry, you'll be moving again soon. "   
  
Meanwhile, Zixuan needed a backup plan. And maybe he already had one!

  
Plan B was simple: Zixuan had to follow her to the library, observe her, and then intervene as soon as a book was on a shelf too high for her. It was much smarter than the previous plan, and it didn't involve any petrified person. It would not fail! And he hadn't even had to wait long! After ten minutes, Yanli got up, went to the Fantastic Beasts section… and used Accio to get all the books she needed! Zixuan gawked without knowing what to think.   
  
Yanli walked past him, “Oh, hi. Did you come to study too? "   
  
"Y-yes..."  
  
"Do you need help with your homework?"   
  
Of course, Yanli would have asked him. She was always kind, even to those who didn't deserve it. Jin Zixuan wouldn't have wasted that opportunity!  
  
"Yes, thank you!"   
  
"You too had problems with Professor Ruf's homework."  
  
"Yeah ... wait, what are you talking about?"  
  
Thus it was that he discovered that Professor Ruf wanted a report on the great Magizoologists and how they had contributed to the knowledge of magical creatures among wizards. He must have said this while Jin Zixuan was asleep. It wasn't his fault that the history of magic lessons were the worst!  
  
Besides, he didn't understand the usefulness of such a thing. Who cared about magical animals?  
  
Yanli cared. Zixuan found that the Ravenclaw loved magic creatures and that she admired Newt Scamander. He didn't quite understand her, but that gave him a new idea!

This time Zixuan will not fail!

  
The Forbidden Forest at night was dismal, not that during the day, it was better: the centenary trees covered acres and acres of land, rising to such heights that the sky disappeared behind a green blanket in different places.  
  
There were no paths in the forbidden forest, or at least not of the traditional type. The roots and stones that dotted the ground made it difficult to walk along it and prevented anyone from frequently passing in those points, thus giving rise to paths of any kind.  
  
Often they could hear distant noises in the woods, such as the neighing of Thestrals or the hooves of centaurs, but some were darker and more difficult to identify.   
  
"I hate you," Jin Zixun said.  
  
"You already told me."  
  
"I didn't tell you enough- his cousin snorted, avoiding the protruding root of a tree - How did you convince me to come?"  
  
"I said _if you want a date with Wen Qing, come with me_."  
  
"I thought you wanted to take me to her!"  
  
"I never said that!"  
  
"You deceived me!"  
  
"The family always helps each other!"   
  
If he could, Jin Zixuan would not have brought Zixun. But to catch a unicorn, he needed help. Yanli loved magical animals, and she will surely love a unicorn. If he brings her one, he will have to say yes. It was logical! Now, if only he could find a unicorn...  
  
A distant noise interrupted the boy's thoughts. The two froze and stood motionless in absolute silence, ready to dash in the direction of the castle or put their wands in case of danger. However, they soon recognized the sound of hooves in the constant distant sound. They looked at each other with eyes that lit up: they had made it, they had found a unicorn. They approached each other and began to move in the direction of the sound, ready for action. Suddenly the noise stopped, and the two froze in confusion. They looked around for the slightest trace that would lead them to their target.  
  
After a couple of minutes, Zixun was about to comment when a dozen centaurs emerged from the bush.   
  
"Shit."   
  
Zixuan couldn't have said it better. Within seconds, centaurs surrounded them, and they had the arches pointed at the wizards.  
  
Zixun was ready to fight, and he had to stop him.   
  
"Maybe they're friendly," Zixuan told him.   
  
"Friendly? Centaurs are mindless monsters!"   
  
"Zixun ..."   
  
"They will eat us!"   
  
"You get confused with werewolves."  
  
"It's not that different, idiot..."  
  
"I can't see Jupiter tonight."   
  
The two cousins stopped and turned their gaze on the centaur who had spoken. He was the only one of the group who did not have his bow pointed at them, and besides that, he was facing the sky with a meditative air.  
  
"Excuse me?" Jin Zixuan managed to ask confusedly.   
  
"I can't see Jupiter tonight - repeated the centaur, always looking at the stars - And Saturn shines, obscuring Neptune too."  
  
Finally, the centaur chief lowered his head and set his golden eyes on the two boys.   
  
He sighed, shaking his head, as if news he had long feared had come true. "Take him away - he ordered, gesturing to Zixun - We are doing Hogwarts a favor like this."   
  
They nodded, and a couple of them approached the boy. Zixun tried to curse them but hit his head and knocked him unconscious. Zixuan wanted to intervene, but the leader of the centaurs told him, “Don't interfere."  
  
"What do you want to do to him?"  
  
“We want to try to make him a decent human being, even if the dark arts have already corrupted him, perhaps irretrievably - a sigh - Go back to the castle, and notify Headmaster Yue if you want. And for unicorns, I'm sorry to inform you that you won't find any this evening. It's their mating season. "  
  
Ah, perfect! Zixuan had failed again and had also lost his cousin!  
It couldn't have been worse.

As soon as they found out about Zixuan's stunt, the professors were furious. Headmaster Yue took 20 points from Slytherin and 100 from Gryffindor and put them both in detention for a month. No Quidditch practice for Jin Zixuan, and they both have to help Filch with whatever he wants. Zixuan had to help him while Jin Zixun had to spend three weeks in the infirmary. He was in shock or something.

Life was unfair. What had he done wrong?

"Well, first of all, you are an idiot."

The voice startled him. At the entrance to Griffyndor's room was Mianmian, looking at him as if he was a dragon.

She must have just returned from training with their team, while he had to clean brooms all afternoon! 

"What ...?" 

“You were talking aloud - the witch explained - I know that we Gryffindors have a reputation for doing stupid things all the time, but you've outdone them all in three days. What's wrong with you? "

"I wanted to invite Jiang Yanli to the Yule Ball."

"And couldn't you just have asked her?"

"I did it! - he protested - But Yanli told me no! "

"No, you didn't invite her. You told her she had to go to the prom with you. The last time I checked, that's not an invitation. " 

"No?" 

Mianmian slammed a hand in his face, “By Merlin's beard, you didn't get it yet! You made her look like you were doing her a favor by inviting her to the ball! It is no surprise that she refused. Any girl with a bit of self-love would have done it. " 

“But I was doing her a favor! No one else would have invited her. "

The witch raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure? I heard from a reliable source that Wen Ning would like to ask Yanli to go to Yule Ball with him. And she is likely to accept because Wen Ning, unlike you, doesn't offend people _every time he opens his mouth_. "

Jin Zixuan felt a surge of jealousy inside him that he didn't fully understand. He blamed it on Wen Ning. He didn't have to invite other people's girlfriends. 

It did not matter that he and Ynali weren't officially together.

"She's _my_ future wife!"

"Don't be a capricious child now."

"I'm not a capricious child."

"You're sulking." 

Jin Zixuan wrinkled his nose, "Are you kidding me?" 

“Well, as much as I like to tease you, I'm also a friend of Yanli. For some strange reason, she likes you. So stop being a spoiled child and act like a decent human being. Ask her to come to the Yule Ball with you. And this time try not to spoil everything. " 

"I don't spoil everything."

“Tsk, I never see you spending time with her! Arranged weddings are old-fashioned crap, but at least you could try not to be such an asshole. It's certainly not her fault. "

She wasn't entirely wrong, but knowing he had to marry someone so mediocre made him dishearten.

 _But Yanli isn't mediocre_ , an annoying voice reminded him.

_She is smart, skilled with spells, is not afraid of bullies, and knows all about magical animals. And she is Professor Ruf's best student. How many people do you know who can listen to that old barn owl?_

Okay, so Yanli wasn't a simple girl. Good for her. 

Maybe even good for him. How did this awareness help him?

_Try to respect her. You will see that you will get results._

It seemed to Zixuan the silliest thing he had ever done, but he might as well try to ask. It will surely be another failure.

_"Do you want to come to the Yule Ball with me?"_

_A pause, then Zixuan added, “Don't feel obligated, I know Wen Ning wants to invite you too. So ... Well ... I'd be happy if you came with me but if you don't want... "_

_"Ok."_

_"What?"_

_"I'll go to the Yule Ball with you."_

_"Really?"_

_She smiled at him, “See, A-Xuan. It is not difficult to ask politely. "_

_Oh, he felt like an idiot at that moment._

**Author's Note:**

> \- Jiang Yanli, 16 years old.  
> \- Jin Zixuan, 15 years old, member of the Gryffindor's Quidditch team.
> 
> English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry for any errors.


End file.
